An Qin waved her hand. “He is, but not fit for guests. He’s terribly hungover.”
Zhi Lan threw a desperate glance his way.
“We’d like to see him now,” Shao Qing said.
An Qin raised a brow. “I suppose the children are already bothering him anyway. Come with me.” She ducked inside the cottage through a low wooden door frame.
Shao Qing began to follow, but Zhi Lan tugged his sleeve. “Are you sure this is the right place?” she whispered. “This seems awfully...domestic.”
She had taken to walking close behind him, as if she expected danger to spring out at any moment and he were her shield. Shao Qing extricated his sleeve. “This is the place. There’s no need to be afraid.”
Zhi Lan straightened her hunched shoulders and raised her chin. “Who said I was afraid?”
“Your body. Stop cowering.”
She harrumphed and pushed past him. Getting a reaction out of her was oddly satisfying, like throwing a stone into a still pond.
Inside, Yao’s two children ran to and fro, squealing boisterously. They were about four or five, too young to pay the newcomers any mind, and continued to wreak havoc around the wooden table behind which Yao himself sat with his fingers pressed to his temples.
“Elder Brother Yao,” Shao Qing said to announce himself.
Yao squinted up at him. “Brother Qing? What are you doing here?” He scowled. “Don’t tell me someone got caught last night.”
“Not that I know of.”
“I’m turning you in myself if any of us gets implicated.”
Shao Qing shrugged. “I’m here about the painting.”
“If it’s about the profits, everyone gets an equal cut. Just because you barreled in recklessly doesn’t mean—” Yao stopped abruptly when he caught sight of Zhi Lan. His eyebrows shot to his hairline. “What’s this? Have you found yourself a woman?”
An Qin slid into the seat beside him. “That’s what I said! Who knew Shao Qing had it in him to attract such a pretty girl?”
Zhi Lan shot Shao Qing an accusing glare when he didn’t correct them. She turned to Yao and executed another bow. “I’m Nong Zhi Lan, sir. You must be Shao Qing’s superior.”
Yao barked an explosive laugh. “She’s wearing white! Is she mourning? Or is she a scholar?”
“She’s a painter’s apprentice,” Shao Qing said.
“Indeed?” Yao said. “What does she want from you?”
“She’s right here,” Zhi Lan said irritably, seeming to have gotten over her initial fright.
“Don’t mind the stupid men,” An Qin said in a consoling tone. “Have you eaten yet?”
An answering growl came from Zhi Lan’s stomach.
An Qin ushered the children away and made Shao Qing and Zhi Lan sit with Yao at the table. In five minutes she set a steaming bowl of noodle soup before each of them.
Shao Qing picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. He never felt particularly hungry, but he knew his body needed the fuel.
Zhi Lan looked hesitantly into her bowl.
“We’re not going to poison you, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” An Qin said.
“Oh no! I didn’t mean...it looks delicious.” Zhi Lan dipped her spoon into the broth and gingerly took a sip.
Yao leaned back into his chair, his gaze narrowed on her. “So, what is it you want from me, young miss?”
